


A Different Road

by hellbells



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, R.E.D
Genre: AU, Action, Badass Family, Developing Relationship, F/M, No scooby love here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-13
Updated: 2012-08-13
Packaged: 2017-11-12 01:57:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/485390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hellbells/pseuds/hellbells
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Buffy cannot forgive the betrayals of Sunnydale. Buffy decides to split and visit her grandmother, who has taught her granddaughter a few interesting skills. She taught her small skills, like – Sharp shooting; evasive driving; knife throwing; knowledge of useful languages and well, what is a girl to do? Quite simple really, find the love of her life and join the CIA.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Different Road

**Author's Note:**

> **Challenge:** Twistedshort and response to the challenge issued by Sera over on Twisting the Hellmouth- I did my best but missed one small part. Hope you like!  
>  **Authors note:** Has nothing to do with my badass verse. R.E.D is a movie where Helen Mirren, Bruce Willis, John Malkovich and others play badass retired agents. In the movie Bruce Willis’ character Frank has a kill order on him because of a secret he knows about the current VP Stanton.  
>  **Disclaimer:** I do not own the rights to R.E.D (2010) or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. All rights belong to their owners and I merely borrow the characters for your amusement.

* * *

2004

Buffy had kept some mega secrets from the Scooby gang. It was funny but considering the way they treated her, she never felt guilty. Like the small matter that she was adopted and stranger still, she seemed to be the only one that remembered Dawn.

One minute, she is staring at the crater and the next she is in the clouds. She doesn’t think; she just reacts on instinct, and Whistler finds himself slammed up against a cloud wall. Buffy was impressed, for supposedly fluffy clouds; they withstood having someone slammed into them.

Buffy was pissed and the Powers had screwed her over for the last time. She had died for them twice; she had sacrificed herself for the world, and how do they repay her? Letting the people who were her support system betray her, and then taking her sister away from her. It was the final straw.

Whistler managed to zap all her anger with one statement, “You’re released from your destiny.”

Buffy let him go, and stared in shock. A little faint, “What?”

Whistler grinned, “The powers believe that you have more than fulfilled your destiny. Dawn had to go kiddo; she was simply too dangerous to leave lying around for any psycho.” He saw her about to protest, “I know you would do your best to protect her, but you cannot be there for her 24-7.”

“So what do I do?”

Whistler grinned, “All the things that you wanted to do, except now you’ll still have a slayers power. The Powers know that you would never cause evil with your powers, but they do foresee a potential conflict hence releasing you.”

Buffy couldn’t believe the possibilities, she decided to begin afresh. “I can disappear from the Scoobies easily enough but could you send me back to Eagles Nest?”

Whistler gave an extravagant bow, “Of course, my lady good luck.”

Buffy grinned positively giddy at the possibilities, “I take it back Whistler you are all right.”

 

Buffy could think fondly back to the summer when she truly got to learn about her grandmother. You see, before that summer, whilst she had always loved her grandmother she had always come across as a creepy Martha Stewart type. Buffy had not gone to see her father that summer like she told the others, but instead, gone to her grandmothers

One morning, when Buffy had assumed her grandmother was asleep she slipped into the garden with her sword to train. It was too ingrained now for her not to practice. When her grandmother saw her perform a master level kata, she let out an epic squeal of joy and insisted that she learn the family way. Let me tell you, that evening, when her Grandmother had shared stories about her time as a spy, and the granddaughter, shared her stories about being the slayer was perhaps the most interesting dinner party ever.

Buffy learnt about her Grandmother’s time as an ex-CIA/Mi6 and her Grandfather was KGB. Buffy figured that explained her ability to pick up different fighting styles so quickly. When Buffy returned to Sunnydale she was a normal high school slaying teen - who could competently assemble/disassemble all high calibre weapons; knew wet and dry demolitions. She was also really good at high speed evasive driving, not that anyone agreed.

* * *

Eagles Nest 2004

 

Victoria took one look at her granddaughter and gathered her into a big-hug. Whilst Whistler had healed her injuries, including her gaping side, Buffy still looked bedraggled.

Her Grandmother showing that she always knew exactly what to say said, “I’ll get the Ice-cream.”

Buffy was a little lost, as she had never seen the powers offer coming. “What will I do?”

Her Grandmother released her so she could see her face. Buffy didn’t realise until then, how grateful she was for her Nana’s calm nature as it helped everyone relax. “You will heal and then I think it is about time we took a job together.”

Buffy liked that plan a lot. “Hell yeah us Winslow women stick together.”

Victoria may have officially retired, but the CIA and MI6, would still contract out for her help. This was especially true when the situation was dicey and they could not be seen to be associated with the assassination, even if it was an enemy of the country. At first, they had been reticent to have Buffy accompany Victoria until they noticed her level of skill. After that, they had been only too happy for Buffy to go along. In the corridors of power, Buffy’s name was mentioned alongside words like apprentice and protégé.

* * *

2006

 

Buffy under her grandmother’s care and guidance had healed immensely. They had taken a few jobs together, which were great fun. They had seen a few governments change hands in South America, thanks to their delicate interventions. Her grandmother explained that while she may have been tagged R.E.D; the CIA knew if they wanted a job done quietly and well, then they liked to use her and Buffy. In South America, Buffy even indulged in some slaying.

Buffy had been growing a little restless; Victoria knew the signs and contacted an old friend - Kordeski. He would recognise Buffy’s talents well enough. Buffy was loyal enough to want to serve her country, but had been burnt enough in the past to stay smart.

The next week she had been introduced at the farm. She was been given the introduction course that Black-ops soldiers took, however, it was more so the higher ups could test the other recruits. Buffy had received far more on-the-job training than any other new recruit at the farm in years.

The soldiers sneered at her presence. Buffy smiled inwardly, she was giving them her best Californian airhead act. The only one who seemed to realise that no one could be that vapid was the cute Marine - Cooper.

No-one realised, they had just witnessed the start of the most legendary black-ops/Wet-work team to ever come through the CIA. A team that would pass even her grandmother’s legend, which was certainly no small feat.

 

They stood around a ring for hand-to-hand combat training. The trainer Kordeski had given them a big speech about forgetting whatever style they knew and learning whatever would help them stay alive.

He had looked at Buffy, “Let’s show the group what you can do Lizzie.”

Buffy quirked an eyebrow, Kordeski was her grandmother’s friend so he knew about her abilities. He also was trying to rile her as he knew that she hated when he called her Lizzie.

 

He smirked, adding, “Well don’t terrorise them so much they run away.”

 

Buffy grinned because Kordeski was one of her favourite human sparring partners. “You’re the boss.”

Any doubts the soldiers had about why she had earned her place, disappeared in one single bout. The pair put on a brutal spar that had some of the others wincing. The only one who actually retained a critical eye was Cooper. He was taking in all the moves that were outside of his training style and evaluating how quickly he could learn them.

 

Kordeski and Buffy were bleeding from a few cuts and Buffy was impressed, few humans could land a hit on her anymore. Kordeski spat out a bit of blood, “Well Kiddies this is the deal. You will be in fights and your opponent won’t play by the rules. You fight to survive and not get caught, remember that. Cooper pair up with Winslow it will be an unfair fight for anyone else.”

 

Buffy waited until the cute guy joined her, she snickered before telling him, “You may be cute but I won’t cut you any slack.”

 

Cooper just gave her an infuriating half-grin, “That’s okay I’m waiting for the day when I can beat you and ask you out on a date.”

 

Buffy smiled actually enjoying the banter. “You’re on.”

 

Kordeski had gone to help the trainees, who he knew would hold too tight to their previous training. He would recommend that Cooper and Winslow get moved on. They would eat the other recruits for breakfast, plus they would in all likelihood, make them cry when they test out their marksmanship.

 

To this day William has not beaten his wife in a fight, but there constant sparring has meant no one else could beat him. As far as he and Buffy were concerned, that was all that counted.

 

He smiled thinking about Marksmanship, Buffy had beaten him in high-calibre sniper work, and you would expect nothing else of a Winslow. However, much to his delight, he had beaten her at small side-arms and therefore won his date. He had worn her down to the point that she had accepted first a relationship, and then a marriage. Her grandmother was delighted and had planned the entire event.

 

 

2011

 

Buffy was lying content on William’s chest discussing the day’s events. It was at times like this that he could not believe his luck. The beautiful blonde was able to stand with him in all aspects of his life; they were partners in the truest sense of the word. It pleased him immensely; their success also meant they could choose the jobs they accepted.

 

That had especially pleased him today, when Cynthia had tried to shove a lethal finding case onto him. He had adamantly refused, saying that he had always worked with his wife and he wasn’t about to stop now. The whole case stunk especially as Cynthia had backed off when he suggested that Buffy should join him.

 

He hid nothing from his wife, and they had discussed the problem at length that evening. Buffy’s insight was best, “It’s simple they want one of Nana’s friends.”

 

William quirked an eyebrow, the very thought made him want to laugh, “Good luck with that they’ll eat anyone alive.”

 

Buffy shrugged, “Not our problem. I think we should take a holiday. They’ll come to Langley and I really don’t want to fight them.”

 

He kissed her forehead, “How about a romantic beach holiday?”

 

Buffy upped the ante, “You’re a good husband.” She started to sink down the bed, “Let me show you.”

 

William Cooper was many things but a fool was not one of them. Buffy definitely approved of the plan. It was just too bad that her Nanas friend, Frank Moses, decided to break into Langley the next day.

 

 

William would give grandpa one thing; he could fight well. It wasn’t going to stop Buffy from killing him. Buffy looked at him bemused, “Wow he did a fair bit of damage.”

 

He stretched an aching muscle, “Asked me if Kordeski trained me.”

 

Buffy just nodded and let him continue. “What did you do?”

 

“He had me in a lock so I used that flip you showed me and added, ‘that one was my wife.’”

 

Buffy wrung the rag out, “then you got him in the shoulder.”

 

He snickered, “yep think Vicky will be proud?”

 

Buffy grinned, glad that her husband had survived an encounter, few others had. A nervous Cynthia walked in, Buffy didn’t let her speak. The woman was an idiot and clearly into something that she couldn’t handle. Buffy’s duty was to her country not to fix Cynthia’s screw ups. “I’m taking Will to my country safe-house. We’ll be back when his shoulder has healed.”

 

Eagles Nest 2011

 

Victoria Winslow had gotten her granddaughter’s coded message about Frank heading her way. She couldn’t wait to see her old friend, and then tease him about getting shot by her grandson-in-law.

 

She saw Frank standing there with a pretty brunette, “You have been in the wars. Get over here.”

 

Frank looked around and saw a photo on the mantelpiece. “Oh shit.”

 

Victoria raised an eyebrow in cool amusement, “Relax Frank. He won’t kill you. Now my granddaughter just might; she hates when he gets shot, if she is not around. Plus, it seems that she was actually at Langley to grab the info you need.”

 

Frank did the math, an angry Winslow usually meant a sword in the gut. “Will she want to stab me or shoot me?”

 

The answer didn’t come from Victoria but rather Buffy, “thought about it, but I figured you got Will, and he got you, so you’re square.” Her eyes narrowed, leaving you no doubt about who she was related to. “Let it stay that way.”

 

Frank looked over the information, “It’s the goddamn Vice President!”

 

Marvin, one of her Nana’s less sane friends, seemed happy to hear that. “Can we kill him?”

 

Buffy rolled her eyes, “No Marvin, and stop clutching the RPG so closely.”

 

William looked at her askance; she knew that he wanted to know why he was clutching the pink teddy so closely. Well, the answer was quite simple; Marvin was a little crazy and used his crazy as a great cover to conceal his weapons.

 

Victoria looked closely at the information, and found the link that she needed. Still, Buffy and William were more active than she was. “Dear, does this read right?”

 

Buffy sighed, sometimes she longed for the days of just simple demon, and vampire slaying. The paper read simple enough, if you know where to connect the dots. “It’s the donor; he is bumping off the people who know about VP Stanton’s indiscretion.”

 

Frank snorted, he’d heard the phrase ‘cleaning out the closet’, but no one mentioned burying skeletons. Sleep that night came easily for the couple; they liked the RED agents, and wanted to help them.

 

Buffy scowled the next morning, really, old people shouldn’t be let out without supervision, and she was going to kill her granddad. This mad scheme had his fingerprints all over it. 

Will knew her well enough not to say anything, he’d let her rant and then they would plan. Will gave her an idea, “What about if we said that we have heard chatter and should be plugged into Stanton’s security detail.”

 

Buffy mulled it over, “It would work and Cynthia is scared of me.”

Will, knew something wasn’t sitting right with her. “What’s wrong?”

Buffy chuckled, “I learnt long ago that the world is shades of grey, but this one is giving me a headache.”

Will sighed, but silently agreed, “Come on, let’s go and show the Secret Service how it is done.”

 

Buffy smiled in delight, since their coming to the CIA, the CIA had never lost any, of the Inter Agency fighting competitions. This was not something that sat well with the Secret Service, especially since the CIA refused to transfer them.

* * *

The speech was all but done, and she could see her grandfather start to cause trouble. She loved trying to explain to her colleagues exactly where that genetic predisposition came from. Just as they predicted, Nanas’ friends toyed with the agents there. Buffy and William made a good show of doing all they could to fix it, but there heart really wasn’t in it.

 

In political mysteries, it’s never the butler; it is almost always, the arms dealer. So Buffy waited in the shadows as Dunning and Cynthia stood threatening her friends and family. Buffy wanted to kill the man just to stop him talking, but hey, the minute he shot at the VP his ass was grass.

 

Cynthia had the nerve to turn the gun on Frank, but wanted Will to do the dirty work. Buffy smiled from the shadows, seeing William, slip Frank the handcuff key. The idiots were startled, when she stepped out of the shadows; the irony was that they hadn’t clocked the old timers – still hiding. Buffy had one desire at the moment, and that was to stop the arms dealer, Dunning - talking.

 

She waltzed onto the scene, “Hey Hon,” she looked innocently around the abandoned warehouse, “this is interesting Cynthia.”

Dunning was unaware of the woman, but he took notice of the way his lackey was scared. Still he was in, even more trouble as he was a demon. Cynthia was too stupid to live it seems. She was trying to use strong arm tactics against Will.

Buffy really wanted to kill her on principle; sadly, it was her principles that would stop her. However much to her delight, the arms dealer was a demon. So really it was her solemn duty; one she took great delight in doing.

She actually grinned, and behind her back moved her stake, “You know my name before I was Elizabeth Cooper was Buffy Summers.”

It turns out the demon wasn’t stupid – he tried to run. Yet he wasn’t as quick as her throw. Cynthia was shot, trying to kill Frank; it seems only her hubby was allowed to shoot him.

 

All in all, Buffy was left with a whimpering VP, who could not have been more pathetic. Buffy rolled her eyes, and she doubted the budding friendship between Frank and Will would result in anything good. Frank knew that now was the time to make an exit stage left.

 

“You got this?”

 

William’s expression said it all, he drawled “Yeah we got it, Grandpa.”

* * *

Buffy wondered how this had become her life. You see once the dust had settled; the snivelling VP Stanton, was now President. No, the shock was him naming her and William - joint leaders of the CIA.

 

Still, there was one really amusing part to all this. She only wished she could be there when the Scoobies read the International news and saw her face. She’d laugh her ass off, she was happily married, and leader of the CIA – You just can’t beat that type of entertainment.


End file.
